Progress in Western Civ. essays

Progress in Western Civ. essays It is a common misconception, in our modern day society, that more money, intelligence, power and fame are signs of success, or progress. This is not a coincidence, but a very old concept dating back to the rise of civilization. The Babylonians believed this notion, as did some other more successful empires such as the Greek and Roman. It is true, that they were able to acquire more money, land, a larger army, etc... It was in there pursuit of the former that they disregarded the essence of human existence, the sanctity of human life. How can any economic, intellectual, or technological advances be seen as progress, when their societies didnt even strive for an equality of peoples? Western civilization has done nothing but brought forth persecution from one group to another. The essence that civilization was founded, equality, only lasted for a short time before domination began to shape our western culture. It could be said that perhaps one of the earliest dominations was that of the male being over the female. This could most clearly be attributed to the new perception of a male God. As it was seen, the early Mesopotamians embodied a female god, and it wasnt a coincident that females were considered equal, if not superior to their counterparts. It was believed that the world was self-sustained like a womb. It would follow that the female spirit was immortal because a female could bleed for seven days a month and still live. It wasnt until the Neolithic era, which brought more hierarchy and male domination. This was largely due to the focus of more male gods. This set the stage for all the western civilizations and religions to follow. It can also be noted that during this time that male gods came into effect, the crimes followed. The constant wars with their burning and sacking of cities, left many Sumerians in deep despair(8). The Israelites were subject to oppressive pe...